


An EreJean Timeline

by giwp



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Compilation of Works Previously Posted, Erejean Week 2015, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, this entire fic is super cliche and done but it's fluff and some smut so yay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 14:36:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3695987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giwp/pseuds/giwp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They met under cliché circumstances and their entire life together is a bad fanfiction storyline but as the years pass and they get to know each other more and more and figure out the chinks in their relationship, Eren and Jean can certainly say they are stupidly in love with each other. </p><p>This piece is a collection of the fics I wrote for EreJean week that ended up becoming this whole intertwined universe that I absolutely love. The fics are posted on ao3 as singular little one-shots but I wanted to bring it all together for those that want to just read straight through in timeline order. The chapter names are what the fics are titled under my account unless they have been removed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Just Wanted a Coffee

Jean hates the winter. The way that the bite of cold seemed bent on digging into his veins and chilling him down like he was being cryogenically frozen was irritating and unnecessary. And then there was the constant reminder that Christmas was on the way; the shiny lights coloring the campus buildings and cheer written all over the faces around him. Everyone looked so damn cheery, joy and happiness either painted or etched into their features and it was so sickening. How the fuck can they be so happy about a Christian-fantasy holiday when half of these people probably weren’t even Christian?

Their faces plastered with cheer and his with true Scrooge McDuck qualities, Jean makes his way across campus to the Starbucks they’d made for easy access for all those that needed the extra boost without paying for steroids or their own coffee makers. The coffee shop was placed all the way near the theater department, opposite of where the library stood, and it bothered him even more. Who the fuck thought keeping coffee so far away from studying kids was a good idea. Jean didn’t have to study but the past week he’d spent doing so and barely scraping through with other assignments justified the urge for his favorite drink.

He just wants his double shot caramel macchiato in one of those hard cardboard cups with a stupid stick in the mouth hole to keep it safe from the cold winter. Safer than he felt as he trundled through icy pathways and a bunch of people running around trying to get to their final exams and back to their rooms in time before the snow started pouring down hard.

Being a freshman meant Jean was able to turn in final portfolios and take exams quickly and he was done with that life and thankful that this last trip to Starbucks would be the last thing he’d need to do before climbing into his car and driving back home for the holiday break. The promise of hot coffee in his stomach relaxed him a little as he kept the trek across campus, passing groups of adults huddling for warmth and study guides.

\------

Hours of packing. So many hours of stuffing his dorm room life into the few bags and boxes he’d scrounged in getting was difficult and a prolonged task. No one liked packing and Eren was no exception as he stood in the middle of a now empty room, the other half just the same as he’d left it the first day he’d moved in and found out he wasn’t assigned a roommate. It had been amazing news – not having a roommate. But it also brought out the inevitable and Eren had soon enough used the extra space to store his clothes on during those nights when sleep was blocked away by mountains worth of textbooks and assignments.

Being an environment science major wasn’t supposed to be this taxing his first semester of college. Eren had expected a bunch of General Education classes to pass the filter year by but instead counselors had him starting with the basic Bio 10 class and such and apparently he was rusty at basic biology. And English. The reminder that English was a second language for him and German was something not so widely used was a shock when English 2A papers came back with red slashes marked all over it.

He’s gotten his shit together mid-semester but it still haunted him to the end of finals that there could be a spot where he’d fuck up and fail a class. This meant a lot of all-nighters and a lot of coffee. Speaking of coffee, oh man did he need some double shots in his system before passing out on the train ride back home tonight. Trost was a distance away to where if he had a car or a license or a best friend with a car and license, he’s get home within a couple of hours. Instead the future of trundling through the train system with a large suitcase and a box like he was going off to Hogwarts for the semester rather than taking his dirty laundry back home was set in stone for now.

Grabbing his keys off the desk, Eren made his way across campus. The dorms were a bit away from Starbucks but the promise of warm coffee made him move faster as the cold tried to whip against his open toes. He’d forgotten his sneakers and had instead left with his sandals still on but the cold didn’t hurt as bad considering it wasn’t much compared to Germany’s winters. California could really up their winter game a few notches.

He was pulling the door open, his mind far off as he stared to the side at the group of boys huddling and muttering around a book about how much they hated chemistry when the tragedy happened. He hadn’t noticed the guy that was about to make his way out of the restaurant, his own eyes trained down at the cell phone he was texting away at. His shoulder had been turned to push the heavy door open but it was too late as Eren pulled right then and left the blond with the steaming hot coffee tripping over the ledge of the door and his own feet and spilling the entire drink.

The cup landed in a dramatic thud as it went flying slow motion towards the cold cement at their feet. Eren flinched away before he got anything splattered on him and he looked up and sighed when he saw that the other guy seemed okay as well. He wasn’t yelling about burns or scars or anything. He was staring down bewildered at the sudden change of events, his eyes blown comically wide as he looked at the corpse of his drink and back up at Eren’s passive face. His eyes were sharp and ready to snap a twig in half and Eren wasn’t as built as he had hoped to one day be but the glare he was getting left him gulping down a thickness he hadn’t known was building at the back of his throat. Shit.

“I’m so sorry. Shit man I didn’t see you there and-”

“Dude what the fuck? That was my drink.”

“I know and I’m sorry. I’ve already said that. Look I can buy you another one to make up for it. I have the money shit man. Let me just make it up for you, yeah.”

The blond stared at Eren, his eyes analyzing every part of his face and before he would’ve flinched away as he watched the light brown eyes linger over the scars on his face but he let it happen, trying to show that he meant it about buying him another drink. It must’ve been the Christmas spirit that had him working charity but it was the least he could do for dumping the large cup of coffee onto the ground.

Eren leads the way in, glancing back every few steps to make sure the other boy is following him. He turns back and notices how the glare is a little more subdued and how the blond keeps his eyes down at Eren’s feet to make sure he doesn’t lose him. They find the long line of college students, wrapped around the bar, and they follow along and stand behind a tired looking senior. The boy, whose name Eren doesn’t even know yet, stands next to him, their elbows nearly touching as he stuffs his hands in the pockets of his winter jacket.

“So what’s your name?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“I know. I would just like to know. What if I have you in a class next semester? I’d need to have at least one acquaintance.”

“I doubt we’ll be in a class together.”

“Well no offense or anything but you look like a freshman and since I am too it’s likely we’ll end up in a GE class together at some point. So. What’s your name blondie?”

The guy huffs and eyes the front door. Probably contemplating an escape but he turns back anyway and answers. “Jean.”

“Mm. Mine’s Eren. What’s your major?”

“Business. Public Relations specifically.”

“Nice! So it that like managing the publicity for companies and shit?”

“Yeah actually. Usually people think it means I wanna be a paparazzi-wrangler but yeah.”

“That’s pretty cool. I’m an environmental science major. I’m from Germany actually. Came down from home for the education and my sister lives a couple towns over so it was perfect excuse to get my parents to let me leave.”

“That would explain the slight accent and choppy English.”

“Excuse me but my accent is sexy. At least that’s what my ex-boyfriend said all the time.”

“Oh.”

“So where are you from?”

“Why do you want to know so much about me? You owe me a coffee, not my life story.”

“Because, like I said, new acquaintances. I have to know something about you so we have something other than formalities to talk about when we meet next semester.”

“We’re not meeting next semester.”

“Meeting. Running into each other again. Same difference. So?”

“Trost.”

“That’s where my sister lives! So are you going back home soon? I’m leaving tonight on the 8pm train.”

“I was about to head out right now once I’d had my coffee. My shit’s all ready to go and everything. Just need my coffee and I can live this shit place.”

“You don’t like university?”

“Not really no.”

“I love it here. Lots of nice people and good weather. Makes studying in peace a lot easier than back home in Germany.”

“Right- hey it’s our turn to order now.”

Eren turns back towards the front of the store, his eyes flashing as he practically runs up to the counter. “Armin! I didn’t know you were working today,” he says more than asks.

The blond working the counter must pick up the tone though as he smiles and grabs a cup from the stack next to the register and uncaps a pen. “Yeah. One last shift and then I’m free.” Armin tilts his head, his eyes traveling back to where Jean is standing close to Eren’s back and is staring incredulously at the back of Eren’s head. “Jean?”

Jean flinches at being addressed personally by name and he paints on an obviously fake smile as he responds. “Hey Armin. How are you?”

“Uh. Good.” Armin turns back towards Eren, that spark of curiosity filling his eyes as usual. “Eren you know Jean?”

“Not really. I kind of bumped into him and made him spill his coffee and I owe him one now.”

“Oh.”

“Why? Wait, how do you guys know each other?”

It’s Jean’s voice that speaks up above the others. He’s firm in his tone and it kind of freaks Eren out how serious he sounds when he says it. “We used to date back in high school. Didn’t really work out going into college.”

Eren whistles lowly as he glances between the two boys. “Oh. So is that why you hate this school? Because of Armin? Dude you’ve got some misplaced feelings going on and I am here to mediate it.”

Armin chuckles as Jean turns a dark shade of red, the tips of his ears burning under the edge of his red beanie. “How about we leave that for after break. What do you guys want to drink?”

“Right. Jean you first.”

Jean stammers for a second as he looks up at the board, but he shakes his head as he remembers the drink he’d had just a few minutes ago. “Double shot caramel macchiato.”

Armin writes the drink down on the largest cup they sell as Eren just smiles at Jean stupidly, laughing to himself as he turns back to an awaiting Armin. “Make that two lover boy.”

Jean frowns but before he can get a question out, Eren rounds on him at the end of the bar after paying. “That’s actually my usual drink too. Well I don’t always get the double shot but the finals have me dying and needing that extra caffeine. Um. We should probably sit,” he glances around at the large group of people huddled around the counter and points towards an empty table near the far end of the building by the window. “It might be a while.”

Jean grumbles but follows him as they go to sit by the open window that frames the coming storm perfectly. The snow falling serenely as people rush around in its wake to get inside buildings.

Jean sits himself down in front of Eren and Eren’s given the chance to just look at the boy. His blond hair is cut as an undercut from what he can see under his hat, the blond popping out from at the front while the back is shades darker. His eyes are naturally beady and it relaxes Eren a bit that he wasn’t the cause for his constant scowling.

Jean’s the first to break the silence that Eren’s let settle over them as he noticed the way that Jean’s nose turned up slightly at the end. “So. What’s up with you?”

“What do you mean? I’m just me.”

“Rather outgoing and loud for an exchange student.”

“If you don’t live life on the edge and happy then what’s the point, ya know?”

“Right. But it’s a lot don’t you think?”

“I mean not really. I’ve made a new friend haven’t I?”

“You have?” Jean asks, his eyebrows raising up to hide under his long fringe.

“Jean. C’mon man. Give me a break and accept my friendship.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“We already have the same taste in coffee, bro. We have the same friends, even if Armin is an ex. We’re practically best friends now.”

Jean smirks as he pulls his hands to cross them over his chest. His heads shakes in resolve and he looks out the window as they wait in silence again for their cups of coffee. Eren’s eyes wander and linger over at the boy again, taking in the way his shoulders hunch and relax in his seat as his knee sticks out from under the small table between them.

Eren’s name is given out over the small roar of the people sitting and milling around the building and he stands and makes his way towards the bar, leaving Jean sitting and watching him walk away.

He comes back, drinks in hand, making sure to stick the green stick into the cap of the cup before sitting back in front of Jean. Jean accepts the drink graciously, sipping at the taste and making sure nothing was fucked up in the order. He seems to accept the flavor and bite of caffeine as his chair squeaks and grinds against the tile and he stands letting Eren just stare bewildered up at him. “Where are you going?”

“I have to start driving back home. Can’t be late to mom’s dinner.”

“Right, of course. Mom’s happiness is always important.”

“Yeah.” He floats around for a second, his mind wandering as he tries to think of something to say. “Have-have you talked to your mom in a while?”

Eren backs a little at the sudden question. He blinks up at Jean and smiles quietly. “Yeah she said that she’s a bit lonely but I’ll have fun with my sis Mikasa until she can get the paperwork to come visit with dad.”

“Th-that sounds nice. Well I should get going now.”

Eren stands and walks along with Jean as they head out the door. “I should probably head back and continue packing as well.”

“Right so,” Jean points over his shoulder as they stand in front of the door, the snow hitting their shoulders and head lightly. It’s a damn picture=perfect moment. “I’m that way towards the parking lot.”

“I’m in the dorms.”

Jean nods his head, and spins on his hells. Shooting a wave over his shoulders, he mumbles out a small “see ya later” and starts walking.

Eren whispers to himself, his eyes following the boy for a second before doing the same and walking in the opposite direction. “Will definitely see you later, Jean.”

He’s only made it a couple of steps away from the door, letting a group of girls pass him by when the rush of cold hits him hard on the ass. Literally. He spins around and one glance shows him that he’s been pelted with a snowball trained at his ass. Eren looks up with wild eyes trying to find who did it but he smiles when he see Jean smirking back at him, his hands deep in his pockets to warm them from the icy frost.

“Merry Christmas, Eren.”


	2. That First Realization

Neither of them actually know how to cook. Eren always manages to burn the water he’s using to make macaroni and cheese. Jean was notorious for over-seasoning any recipe he was reading off from. Together they made a wonderful duo full of takeout boxes and to-go menus from a shit ton of Chinese and Indian and Italian restaurants around the small college campus.

The two had moved in after a couple of years knowing each other. Their first encounter under snowy circumstances had worked in their favor apparently and Eren finally had that residential friend that knew more about the ways of campus life than he. Even if Jean tended to act like a recluse. Jean had agreed to move in with the boy under certain conditions: no more flirting.

Eren had denied it. Saying he wasn’t even flirting and that he was just overly friendly and fun-loving. Jean took it with a grain of salt, huffing as he took a sip of his drink and shook his head as Eren shot him a wide-eyed smile. Their friendship was going to be a work in progress but thankfully the opportunity to share the same roof would make becoming best friends easier.

And that’s where they found themselves every day after struggling home from classes. On Mondays and Wednesdays, Eren would be the one strewn across the lone couch in the small living room, snoring like a chainsaw as Jean stumbled in loaded with textbooks he’d been studying at the library to avoid the noise. Tuesdays and Thursdays meant Jean was the first to arrive home – aka lock himself in his room and only coming out for food or a piss break and Eren would come in, knock on his door to let him know he was home and then fall into his own room. School and classes really tired them out and it was a miracle they both made it out with decent enough GPAs at the end of the semester and they figured their situation must be working out because soon enough, leases were signed and Jean and Eren were looking up at their new place off campus for the next year.

Six months was a lot different than an entire year and they both secretly hoped that nothing would cause a problem to arise between them. And it did work out to their favor; them avoiding each other most of the time to keep contact to the minimum and maintain that happy mood when they were stuck in a room together. But there was the one point of most nights that forced them upon each other.

The food.

It was in their shared kitchen.

Their disaster of a kitchen that included an overworked coffee machine and toaster solely for old bread and Pop Tarts was on its last resurrection as bowls of cereals lined the counters and glasses stacked in the sink.

But tonight was the night. Tonight was the night that they would use that stove for something that wasn’t Top Ramen and canned soup and they were going to have a nice dinner at home. Their home. They can totally do this. Living outside the dorms meant learning to cook for themselves and it would be easy.

\--- 

“Where the fuck is the can opener?”

“You don’t need a fucking can opener for a bottle, Jaeger.”

Eren huffs as he stares down at the bottle in his hand, the lid probably stuck on with gorilla glue because how the heck can a damn bottle not open. Jean looks over at him under his eyelashes as he stands over the boiling water on the stove. He sticks a hand out behind him, wiggling his fingers at Eren who scowls at the pale hand Jean has out. “Lemme see.”

Eren hands off the jar, practically shoving it into Jean’s hand that curls around the hard glass filled with pasta sauce. He’s still staring down at the water, too afraid to move his eyes away in fear that Eren might try to jump in and burn the thing. Distracted by the way the butter he’d thrown in melts into the boiling water, his hands clasp onto the lid and with a hard twist the cap pops off and he places the jar and lid back onto the counter next to the awaiting noodles.

“Asshole,” Eren murmurs as he goes back to cutting the few vegetables they’d managed to scrounge the money for over the week.

Jean hums over his shoulder, stirring a fork into the water to keep the butter moving around. “You almost done with the onions, we should probably start making the sauce part.”

Eren mumbles something that Jean doesn’t catch and he takes the few seconds before the butter fully dissolves and he’s required to dip the noodles into the water to turn around and stare at the other boy’s back. “Excuse me?”

“Nothing your highness. I will bring you your onions in a second – for you to stick up that salty ass of your.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Who the fuck made you the damn master chef in this, huh?  Thought we were doing this as a team and not me being your sous chef to boss around while you stare at water boiling.”

“Sous chef?”

“Oh. SHUT UP! I’ve watched Food Network just like you and we both know just as little about anything so your prissy little attitude about fucking spaghetti is so dumb and irritating I could yell.”

“Then do it.”

“What?”

“Yell. Do it. If it’ll make you feel better about whatever you’re upset about – then yell.”

“You- you’re so-”

“Why don’t you go and check if the water’s ready and I’ll finish up what you’re doing.” Jean’s quiet as he shifts his way into Eren’s space and misses the way the tips of Eren’s ears burn a dark red in their kitchen’s artificial light. He grabs the knife that Eren had dropped onto their new chopping board and resumes the mess he’d been making with the vegetables. Eren stands there, open-mouthed and red-faced, staring at Jean before he turns back to the water and assesses it. He dumps the bundle of pasta from his hand into the boiling water, making sure to evade the small drips of hot water that splash up from the impact, and sticks the lid of the pot back on to let it soften the noodles.

He turns back around and nearly runs himself into Jean who’s holding a tray full of veggies and a knife behind him. “Uh.”

“I’m gonna go ahead and start trying to sauté these vegetables for the sauce. You can do whatever you want until the pasta cooks.”

Eren’s barely even hears him. His eyes trained on Jean’s chest and how he can somehow see him moving beneath the layer of shirts he has on underneath his hoodie. He’s mesmerized by his best friend and he has to shake his head to keep away the thoughts that are clouding his mind as Jean looks down at him, one eyebrow cocked in question. “I’ll help you.”

“You sure?” Jean sounds amused a little. Probably wondering why the sudden change of heart but ignores it when Eren nods his head, looking down between them.

“Yeah. I don’t really trust you to follow the directions and not burn my precious bell peppers.”

Jean smiles and Eren can feel the way his chest seems to inflate and heat all at once. His body freezes but the flames that lick through his veins as he just stands there and lets Jean walk around him to start the second burner on the stove grows brighter and hotter and sears itself straight into his bones that leave him shivering with goosebumps. He can feel his face turning red, his cheeks up in flames from the feeling building deep inside him and he curses internally. He’s known the guy for what? Like less than a year? And he’s already falling for the way Jean’s hair sticks up at the crown of his head, begging for fingers to slide through it.


	3. Skee Balls and Pissy Babies

“You are a child. So of course I’m going to take your ass to Chuck E. Cheese now shut up and stand by the skee ball machines while I get us some token.” Eren huffs to himself as Jean slides his way between loud and rowdy children towards the machine that ate money and tossed back those little gold coins with the mouse’s face stamped through. It’s a Friday and the crowd that’s shuffled around the animatronics stage is thick with snotty kids but it’s also a certain best friend’s birthday and he’d promised to make it great.

Jean had picked Eren up after work, making sure the boy had no idea beforehand where he was being taken. Stepping up to their shared apartment, he’d never expected a boy dressed in his best outfit – his button-up shirt rolled up to his elbows like a model imitator. Eren looked good. Like really good. Like holy shit this is why I’ve been fantasizing about my idiot best friend for like five months now. His slacks were neatly pressed – something that never worked out considering their shitty iron – and his shoes were shined like he was going to a job interview or a funeral. And Jean was taking him to a kid’s restaurant. Fuck.

Jean squeezed his lithe body between the few adults that huddled around the tables next to the token machine as he muttered every cuss word he could think of to himself. “Shut. Fuck. I’ve done fucked up. The asshole wanted a nice night out. And I fucked it up to the holy nines and I’m being a little bitch and buying tokens like a little bitch and buying tokens like a little pussy who can’t-” A strong stare from a nearby mother of probably three of the little monsters at his feet shut his mouth for the time being but the scowl still ran along his lips as he stuffed the $20 in and grabbed a cup to fill it with the 40 tokens that fell out in return.

He turned back towards where he left Eren, his eyes roaming for a second over the bulky games and adults running after kids with tissues in hand. He finds the boy huddled by the wall, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt that stayed untucked and Jean knew that he was probably shuffling his feet against the ugly-patterned carpeting.

“Fuck.”

He ignored the scowls that were sent his way over the strong pull to get back to Eren as quick as he can. He’s fucked up and he thought Eren would be mad or maybe he’d even laugh at Jean’s joke for a present but the frown and lack of that light that usually illuminated Eren’s eyes was an obvious sign that he’s really misunderstood Eren’s request to have a “night out together”.

He could totally resurrect this train wreck of a night, though. Play off the fact that even he regretted bringing him to this place. It was too late to back off now or Eren would figure just how damn weak Jean was to that horrible expression he was wearing right now. He didn’t know where the sudden gloom over his head came from or what triggered it but hopefully Jean could salvage the night without abandoning the entire cup of tokens that jingled with every step he took closer to the dark-skinned boy. His hair was still the unruly mess it was every day. His bangs drooping over his eyes as he looked down at his hands. Memories of running his fingers through it during the aftershocks of late-night nightmares ran through Jean’s head as he smiled down at Eren as he stood toe-to-toe with him.

“You ready to get your ass whooped at skee ball,” Jean said, his voice dripping in farce enthusiasm as he shook the cup of coins in Eren’s face. Eren startled out of his thoughts and Jean pretended he hadn’t noticed how his jaw clenched down on the insides of his cheeks as he set his face to match a fraction of Jean’s smile. He nods his head and reaches between them to grab a few coins and turns towards one of the monsters, his back to Jean, and loads the coins in. Jean doesn’t stand too long to dwell on the silence and sidles next to Eren and flipping his coins in and they time their movements and start their game.

Jean barely even tries. His mind is way thrown for a loop as he glances every few seconds to make sure Eren is having a good time. But each glance gives him a face dissociated with the usual competitiveness it held and holy shit how did Jean fuck up so hard.

The game ends soon enough and Jean thinks about betting two out of three but Eren’s attention seems lost and Jean flounders for that second to try to find a way to fix it. To set this night out. To make it less like a joke and like – like maybe it’s a sad excuse of a date.

A different game. Need to find a better game. His eyes land on the motorcycle racing game set up across the aisle and if only it wasn’t the kid’s birthday and they were more enthusiastic, Jean would own his at it but he turns away and looks for something else. The variety of arcade games are placed around the building look appealing but there’s a doubt in him that it won’t appeal to Eren’s taste. His eyes landed on the photo ride and the thought of squeezing himself right next to his best friend to take a couple pictures to capture the night was bitter in his mouth and instead he let himself fall back to Eren’s side to point out the small Cyclone game.

Eren followed Jean’s eyesight and nodded, “sure” was the only response he received and Jean rolled with it as he led the way to the machine. The lights blinked up at them, spinning in circles around the base where the restaurant’s spokes animal was glued to the center. He dug through the cup of coins, handing one to Eren to start it off and watched as Eren’s eyes focused on the coin for a second, his hands twitching at his sides. They practically shook as he reached up to grab the coin from Jean’s grip and the slight graze of their fingertips against each other lit fires in Jean’s arms and center as Eren pulled away and turned towards the lights.

The coin in and the lights now spinning in a different direction, Eren zeroed in on its rotation, his hands both hovering over the large red button that would make the entire thing freeze. It took a couple of spins before his hands slammed down and landed on the number 5, just shy of hitting the jackpot. Eren swore under his breath, his eyebrows furrowed as he stepped away to let Jean have a turn. Jean slipped the coin in and with a speedier process, he slams his hand against the button and in some magical universe where the gods are watching upon him, the momentum of lights end directly onto the place that elicits the most whiny and shrill noises as the machine flashes its lights and throws up a hundred interconnected paper tickets.

Jean’s hands punched the air, a loud whooping leaving his lips as he thought that maybe things would start looking up and he was drowned in that delusion for all of three seconds until he turned back to Eren. The disbelief was written clear across the boy’s face, the scar that ran along the bridge of his nose and the other on his forehead hidden as he scrunched his face up in annoyance as Jean smiled like a dick at him. “What?”

“You’re being a dick.” Eren’s voice is small, strained a bit from unused.

“How am I being a dick,” Jean very nearly yells back, acutely aware of the kids that crowded them because of the noise the machine was making.  “Am I not allowed to be excited I got the jackpot?”

“Well considering we’re at a fucking Chuck E. Cheese, it’s kind of pathetic. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Jean felt himself take a step back, his face blank for a second as he stared at Eren.

He was used to the insults, they’d built their entire relationship around it. But for some reason this hurt a lot more than he thought it ever could. He wasn’t pathetic; he just wanted to have fun and Eren wasn’t helping. “I’m not pathetic,” was all that he could splutter out. His gaze turned away from Eren for just a second, unconsciously seeking out the exits in case one of them decided to storm out. “Why can’t we just-”

Eren cuts him off before he can continue, his voice biting as he tried to keep it down to a whisper as the kids dispersed and went to find their friends or parents. “Why can’t we just what, Jean? You brought me to a fucking kid’s playground. For my birthday! I didn’t really plan on spending my 21st surrounded by plastic toys and screaming children and sorry if I’m not exactly excited about Cyclone as much as you but this stinks more than the shitty Indian food Sasha eats at work.” He’s fuming so hard, the fire in his eyes, smoldering that bit of spark Jean had felt earlier and all the blond could do was just stare.

He’d really done it. Eren hated him and he hated himself as he felt the ducts in his eyes working overtime to keep them from shedding tears around children.

“This birthday sucked,” Eren continues. “I wanted to go out with you and this is not what I meant.” He turned on his heels, ready to leave and seemed to realize that Jean had been the one to bring him there in the first place and instead turned towards the back of the restaurant and marched straight towards where the bathrooms were. Jean didn’t follow, he knew better and let Eren fume to himself before saying anything.

Finding a table, he plopped himself down and rested his head over his arms on the table and focused on keeping himself breathing. This was hurting. A lot. Like more than a best friend should be hurting over harsh words. Eren didn’t mean it. He wasn’t pathetic for making a dumb joke and he did care that Eren wanted a memorable birthday. That’s all he wanted when he thought to bring him to play skee ball. He kept his head down and his knees jittered and shook as his hands fidgeted with the sleeves of his jacket. He doesn’t have any idea how long he’s sat there, letting the guilt of ruining the one day for Eren but minutes must’ve past and he feels Eren’s presence at the other end of the booth seats. He sits down, his feet kept right underneath him as he sat, back flushed against the leather.

Jean looks up from the table, his eyes edging on the cliff of being red, and sits himself up to face the boy. Eren is as much put together as he had been before he’d left, his face still pulled into a scowl. But there is that essence of just being done that surfaces from behind his eyes. Jean grimaces up at him, his lips pulling on the edges as he tries to show some kind of emotion that isn’t the pit of angst that he feels building in his stomach.

Eren sits and waits for something and Jean realizes he wants an explanation. He probably wants to know why instead of that night out that most 21 year olds want, he’d been taken out to Chuck E. fucking Cheese and given grimy gold coins to play games that last less than 2 minutes.

“I didn’t know. I didn’t know you wanted to-to um, go out fancy. I dragged you here because I thought we could have fun. I didn’t know you wanted something else. I’m sorry.”

Eren squints at Jean, his nose scrunching in that way like when he smells something that doesn’t settle in him and Jean tenses, waiting for him to yell at him to just take him home or drop him off at Marco’s or Connie’s for the night. He clears his throat and Jean feels his hands grip tight onto his pants, waiting for the shitstorm.

“I thought this was going to be a date.” Jean’s eyes widen as he stares at the blush growing very pink on Eren’s cheeks and he can feel the tips of his own ears doing the same as Eren stares back at him, his sight never wavering. “It’s why I dressed up. You-you just disappointed me for a second I guess. It’s fine though, really.”

“But Eren-” Jean starts. Eren raises a hand and he shuts his mouth.

“We can order a pizza and maybe take a picture in that stupid police car photo booth thing over there. Maybe Mr. Cheese himself will make an appearance,” he says, glancing around at the stage where a bunch of kids were trying to climb up and down off of.

Jean’s voice comes out a bit breathless like he’d just been punched in the gut with a basketball filled with very heavy rocks. “Yeah sure. Th-that sounds great.”

“Great! Then it’s a date.


	4. The Start of Something Good

He dug his toes into the warm sand. The grainy pieces making their ways to the slots between toes and letting it wash away with the occasional wave that lapped at his ankles felt relaxing and soothed the kinks in his neck that had built over the semester. The cool ocean breeze was warm and welcoming in the late summer heat and Jean thanked the lords that June came with the promise of no exams and summer vacations.

He’d just graduated with his bachelors a couple weeks ago, the sweet smell of paper and fresh ink lingering on his fingertips as he stood arm and arm with his boyfriend while his parents took thousands of snapshots of those blessed moments outside the arena. The taste of a fancy dinner on his lips as they’d gone out to celebrate that left his tummy feeling warm and just alright as they made their way home after a night out with everyone still lingered in the air around him. It remained on his mind and in the way his body felt antsy until they’d finally stopped their little rental car at the gates of the open beach and Jean had followed an excited Eren out onto the sandy beach.

It was like they were freshman again – the way Eren flopped around in the water and soaked in the sun’s rays reminiscent of that first day when he’d met the loud and obnoxious and very much vibrant boy. Jean had changed since then, as well. The typical scowl that graced his lips had turned into smiles that occasionally decided to make an appearance when he was feeling up to it. His demeanor had changed over the years of knowing Eren and that slight shift of falling in love with the same boy that had somehow seeped his own energy into him was all that he could blame. Jean had parts of Eren in him that had replaced the parts he’d left behind with Eren.

They’d become cohesive over the years and although they butted heads like no other, they also loved each other and grew from each other’s pains.

Jean absolutely loved Eren and Eren felt the same. And as he followed Eren onto the sandy shores of southern California, that same smile that he’d manufactured after months of being with Eren snuck out and lit his face at way Eren tripped over little pebbles and fell face first into the water.

“Be careful, wouldja? I don’t want to bring back a broken boyfriend – Mikasa would kill me.”

Eren laughed, his voice skipping away across the water before reaching back to me and the way that the sun behind him framed his face and body like an ethereal outline made Jean’s heart flutter and skip a beat as he tried to not trip over the same stones that littered over the grounds. “Don’t worry, babe.” He leaves it with that. Those three small words. Knowing that’s enough to quell Jean’s worry for now.

‘Syncopated minds’ Jean thinks as he comes to stand on the edge of the shore, sliding his feet out of his sandals to dig them into the sands between the floating seaweed. They’ve known each other long enough to be able to talk in their own little method of code – their words cut short by other thoughts but always meaning just as much as if they’d written out an essay. It probably wasn’t healthy how well they seemed to coexist – how they could predict what the other would say without even doing anything but for now it worked well. School had them over-worked and offhanded in their replies and the way they kept their words to a minimum was what worked for them.

But now it was summer and the threat of the rising temperature in the weather and in their lives together rose with it. They’d be around each other a lot more now that it was summer and although both of their Master’s programs would be starting pretty soon, there was still the possibility of shit going down and ruining everything.

Jean kept his eyes on the far horizon, watching as the sun dipped behind the endless line of clouds that turned the sky a vibrant purple and orange. He watches as every second brought the sun closer and closer to disappearing for the night. The sudden thought that there could be a day when that day’s sunset would be their last together overwhelms Jean’s thoughts all of sudden. His lungs scrabbling for air as the panic sets into his skin and makes him shiver in the cooling water digging into his legs higher and higher. Eren’s still running around, chasing after the few fish that dared to make it so close to shore and searching for any seashells that weren’t too damaged from his titan-like feet stamping over the ocean floor.

Jean relaxes his breathing; telling himself that he’s overreacting terribly and that there was no reason to be freaking out. They’d managed a summer together before, throwing themselves into mini-vacations out of town or out on the town, and they’d gotten through long nights of not sleeping and slamming beds into the wall behind it just the same as always. Summer didn’t have to be so confusing. They’d live together just like always. Struggling to cook an edible meal every few nights and going and coming home from work like normal. There wouldn’t be those hours they’d force themselves to take for the sake of studying for exams or writing papers and they would probably be spending all their free time together as Eren asked for it more and more everyday but it would never get to being that point where it’s just too much.

The breeze of the ocean ruffled up the edges of Jean’s shirt, making him shiver even more, and he looked up and around to find where Eren was to get him to head back. He turns around where he’s standing, shifting his feet a little to get them out of the water and slipping his sandals back on to stand with his hands on his hips as he looks around. “Eren! Dude we should get going soon it’s freezing!” he yells over the lapping of the waves on the sand. He cups a hand over his mouth as he call for his boyfriend again. “Eren!”

The voice that comes from so close behind him startles Jean and he nearly whips a hand back behind him to smack into Eren’s forehead before he manages to catch himself from causing a blood battle. “You just had my dick in your mouth, don’t fucking call me ‘dude,’ Jean.”

“Shut up. It’s getting cold. Can we go now?”

The whine that Eren lets out is on the opposite spectrum of voice he’d just had in accusing Jean and Jean laughs at the little pout on his lips. “But we just got here. And I’m tired of driving.”

“Then I’ll drive. The sun’s already gone and we should start making our way home.”

Eren nods his head, solemnly, his face falling in disappointment so exaggerated Jean has to muffle the laugh trying to leave him as they trundle their way up the slope to get to the car.

They hadn’t sat and watched the sunset together like any romance comedy couple would’ve and that thought calmed Jean a little. Eren had spent the sunset running who knows where and probably had a blast doing it while Jean was able to take in the colors in his own ways of appreciation. They did work well together but they still weren’t the same people. They were two entirely different entities that adapted to the love of their life who knew when they needed to be together and when it worked better to allow the other their space.

They were going to be great together. Any bumps that decided to arise in their path could just fuck itself and fall off a cliff and into the rocky seaside.

And as Jean lead the way back to the car, Eren following close behind with his hands stuck out to the sides to keep his balance as he pretended to tightrope walk across the rocks, he smiled to himself and let that warm fuzziness fill his chest to the brim.

There was no way that he would be letting his idiot boy get away.


	5. It's Only Day One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains adult sexy time content. You have been warned. [this was my first smut fic]

Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Sleeping bag. Gallons of filtered water because fuck dehydration and mucky waste water piped in from local plantations. Car keys. Extra clothes. An especially infuriating boyfriend with an unhealthy addiction to cellular radiation. Swim trunks. Snacks and actual food items. Et cetera.

Everything is stuffed into the car, including said angry blond with built in cellphone. It’s going to be a struggle getting him to relinquish the thing but hopefully the news of “surprise no Wi-Fi of cell service” won’t end in Eren being thrown off a pointy cliff to meet a very pointy end. Jean’s very much not the outdoorsy type but his boyfriend Eren (aka the person that did most of the shopping and packing) – well, he really wanted to spend their anniversary together without that dangling cord overhead and figured a road trip would be perfect. A trip up to the canyons and back for a week was worth it and the shifty reception out phones typically received sealed the deal. Well it had for Eren’s hatred for Jean’s zombie-like tendencies at least.

It took hours of begging and a lot of being on the receiving end of messier things to convince Jean that a week of just us and the open nature could mean a lot of good things even for him. Lots of good when the next few days entailed a lot of cramming into the back of the minivan they’d borrowed from Connie which came with a mattress perfect for snuggling in the cool summer night breeze. It only took a couple of pushing into the wall and smackings upside the head to get him to understand what I was asking.

There wasn’t any worries to be had. The semester had ended a week ago and that grace period of waiting and panicking over grades wasn’t going to run them into the ground sobbing over cartons of Rocky Road. They’ll be long on their way to the massive hole in the ground before stress took away Jean’s ability to hold a conversation let alone a dick without breaking into pained breathing and the sweats. A week full of rutting in the back of someone else’s car and in technically public land would do the boy good and the large box of condoms Eren had gotten for Christmas from a certain large, burly, blond Russian would finally have a sizeable dent in it.

Getting into the car, strapping himself into the death machine, Eren turn to look over at Jean. He’s furiously tapping into an email box, scowling down at the blue screen. He’d mentioned beforehand that he needed to shoot a message asking a professor whether they’ve received his rough drafts of his thesis he’d be submitting next year and Eren let the car idle in the driveway long enough for him to type, review, backspace for thirty seconds, retype and send the text before any sudden moves are made to disturb the concentration furrowing Jean’s face. His breathing is less labored now, relaxed against the fabric seats as he sighs and lets his eyes close. The windows are rolled down and even though we’re not moving, the slight breeze in the air does wonders in blowing through his fringes, cooling his scalp as it ruffles it around.

He’s dating a fucking angel. Eren Jaeger is _fucking_ a damn angel.

“The business world seems rather stressful” he comments quietly – distracting Jean over the fact that he’s slowly backing out of our small driveway getting towards the stop sign at the end of the street. Jean grumbles to himself for a second, hands rubbing circles into his temples as he groans about careers and dad and everything else creating larger canyons onto his pretty face. Taking him to the Grand Canyon will hopefully put his own little crater into perspective but until they get there, pretending he’s actually a super-hot boyfriend who likes to read management books in his free time will just have to do.

Getting the car past 3rd Street seems fine until the change in scenery and momentum seems to stir Jean out of his daze. The warning “Eren” he sends as he looks out the window and then back towards Eren keeps the driver’s hands gripping onto the steering wheel and checking all around for any exit locations in case of an emergency.

“Jean.”

“You could’ve informed me we were leaving.”

“I figured the half ton mass of metal creaking every time I hit the gas or brakes would be sufficient in doing just that.” 

He seems to take the bait and after settling deeper in his seat, slipping his phone into the empty cup holder, he turns to stare at the side of his boyfriend’s face as they glue their eyes to the bumper in front of them that doesn’t understand a two car gap is not wise during early morning traffic. He turns away after taking his sweet time analyzing the darker tones of German skin (there’s complete knowledge between the two of them that he was tracing the outline of an old fading scar under a teal green eye like always) and breathes in deeply the smog clouding over downtown Trost.

“I’m surprised the environmental scientist in you let Connie convince you to take the ol’ slug mobile. The gas mileage on this thing must be killing you inside.”

Eren smirk over at him before turning back – neither of them trusted the brakes. “I’m not a scientist – it’s just my major. And anything for your shiny little ass. This’ll be great and I’m fine with it for now. As long as you keep that promise to pay half of the gas, of course.”

Jean smiles to himself. A tiny little thing that he thinks doesn’t get noticed but god does it shine so bright on his face. It’s a rare thing, surprisingly – watching Jean smile wasn’t something you get on a daily basis in public.

His eyes seem to glaze over the miles that we put between us and home.

Jean hasn’t reached over for his phone in hours now, letting the breeze wash over his face instead and pride fills Eren’s chest for a second. This is exactly the first step that had been planned to get through on this trip and that was one check that could be mark off the mental list. Eren reaches across the center console, scrounging around for a hand to clasp onto and coming up with cold, lithe fingers and squeezing into between my darker hands. He looks over and Eren graces him with a glance back for a second; raising their entwined hands in between them, letting stubby fingers play around with his fingertips as Eren’s voice cuts through their silence. “You having fun yet?”

He seems to fall back to planet Earth with a shake of his head, a light laugh escaping his mouth as he slides down the seat and plants his feet on top of the dash. “Just dandy. I could use a beer but that wouldn’t be very fair to the driver.”

“It wouldn’t. But we do have a box of sodas somewhere in the back if you want to grab that? I’m getting a bit thirsty too.”

“Oh are you now?” Jean replies, his voice heavy and Eren roll my eyes at his bluntness.

“Funny, Jean. Now just grab me a Pepsi before I have to pull the car over.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you? Hold on you lazy bum.”

Leaning over our seat, his ass practically in the air next to wear the hand lain over the armrest, he shuffles around a couple of bags looking for the box. Eren had placed it perfectly behind Jean’s seat – far enough that it would mean an arm extension to get it from just sitting down – and with a small grunt of struggling Jean seems to realize just the same as he shoots a glare over his shoulder and leans even farther to rip a hole into the new 24 can box to grab two cans. A hand slaps across his backside before he has the chance to get situated back into his seat and his glare intensifies as he cracks open the top and hands over one of the cans and does the same for his.

He mutters a weak insult as he sips at his drink and the peaceful silence that had filled the car comes back as Jean lets his eyes close for a second. Within minutes in the afternoon sun, Jean’s snoring deeply into the fabric of the hard seats.

It’s another few hours and a sleepy rest stop at a McDonald’s off the highway before Eren finds a campground that’s empty enough but not in the “might get murdered Texas Chainsaw Massacre” style. Eren parks the van, the gears grinding into place as it jerks the entire motion on the new tires Connie had just put on, waking Jean up from his catnap. The hours of driving shows on his face and in the rumble of his stomach as he lets the belt snap back into its spring-loaded holder and stares at Jean’s twitchy hands and feet waking back up with him.

He rubs a hand over his eyes, smearing the edges of sleep from his vision as he blinks up at the streetlamp they’re parked a couple yards away. “Are we there yet?”

“Well we aren’t there but we’ve found home for the night,” Eren chuckles at the slightly muffled voice next to him bitching tiredly about “itchy seats”. Jean drags his hands down his face, massaging fingers into his temples as he adjusts to the change in light from when he was last awake. “And by home I mean obviously where we’re camping until I recharge enough to drive the rest of the way.”

“You know I can drive, right? You don’t have to be the DD the entire week.”

“I know. I want to do it. It was my idea to come out here so the least I can do is provide as much comfort as I can.” He smiles up at the boy’s grogginess, very much aware the small light they have is reflecting off of his teal eyes as Jean looks back at him with a smirk.

“So now what? We just sleep or-” The question weighs heavy between them – all of the implications laid out in front like a map of the United States plus Canada. Every little detour that could show up on their little journey clear as day but a struggling decision nonetheless. “Because all of those naps have really made me wide awake now and I don’t know about that can of soda you had me chug down before it the bubbles went flat.”

Grabbing the keys out of the ignition and grabbing onto the handle of the door, Eren pops it open and start making his way out chuckling to himself. “Subtle, Jean. Very subtle. Now get the hell out of the van and help me find the food. I’m starving.” As if on cue, the sounds of both their stomachs rumbling in hunger sounds aloud making Eren laugh as Jean scowls down at his chest for betraying him.

Jean grumbles again, still unbuckling out of his seat and tripping himself out of the van. They make their way towards the back doors. Hinging them open and staring at the mattress ladled with all of our junk and then some, they start sorting through the few loose totes that had been packed a couple days in advance trying to find the cans of food they wanted.

“Beans? Really? You really wanna do this the traditional way don’t you,” Jean mutters at the can in his hands.

“Those beans belong to the homemade burritos we’re about to chow down on so shut your trap and find the tortillas. I think I stuck the cheese into the cooler.” Rummaging through the boxes, his body all the way back in the van already, Eren finds the things they need for a tiny replica of a burrito bar plus the small stove set he’d gotten from the camp store back in Trost, Scouting Legions, and crawls back out to find Jean standing there with beans and a new bag of tortillas and chips in his hand. Just staring. At his ass.

“You should probably grab another soda for that thirst of yours because I am very much not doing anything until I eat at least one burrito with this damn cheese falling out the ends.”

Jean comes out of his daze, blinking down at me from where I’m standing and scowls as I push my way past him to set up camp near the van. “Actually we have that beer you wanted so there you-”

He doesn’t even get to finish the sentence before Eren’s being pushed against the thin metal of the van walls. Cold, wet lips are all over him in a second, gliding against his jaw and skimming over his own lips as the lower half of their bodies search for the friction that the taller boy seems to need. The urge to push the guy off crosses Eren’s mind, “remember the food” making a reappearance every time he felt his hands clench harder against the bag of shredded cheese he refused to drop.

They really needed to slow down and Eren really needed to eat before he got irritated. Being irritated and having sex wasn’t actually the best thing in the world for either of the boys.

Pushing slightly against the shoulder that was digging further into his own arm, Eren gets Jean to let off for a second to pull the bag of cheese in between their bodies and stick a hand into the bag. Bringing a handful of the stingy plastic to his mouth and shoveling it all into his mouth, Eren tosses the bag in the general direction of where he’d dropped the small camping stove and pulls Jean back into his ministrations on his neck. Jean takes it with fervor and as soon as Eren’s choked down the food in his mouth he’s pushing against the smaller boy, tripping over the bags they’d thrown onto the ground and falling into the back of the van.

They flump over each other, Jean falling heavily onto Eren’s chest as they both break out into peals of laughter. Jean swipes a hand over his forehead to move the hair that’s fallen into his eyes, still laughing as he pushes up on his elbows over Eren. “You okay there, little fellah.”

Eren slaps his arms gently enough to jolt the boy over him without causing the entire structure to topple over him and laughs, “shut up you dick. I’m still hungry by the way.”

The smirk that blossoms over him does the weird jiggly things in the bottom of his stomach and Eren looks up at the way Jean’s teeth gleam in the night light and how damn perfect he looks just being there. “Well it’s a good thing I’m here for that ain’t it.”    

Their lips lock after what feels like hours of being denied just that much and they both ease themselves into the slow pace of it. There was no rush for either of them. The world was their oyster and the closest strangers were about a football stadium away in some dingy RV.

Jean was the first one to grind hips down to meet the others, a slow movement that had them both gasping into each other’s mouth without losing that ounce of contact. Eren matched his pacing, meeting him full force when Jean brought down his slender waist between the shorter boy’s thighs. It was like they were created to perfectly slot into the others body and the way that they connected then, fully clothed and all, was perfection and it left Eren even the more breathless as Jean kept his end of the pacing up.

Their breaths intermingled in the small space between them and the open door of the van did little to ventilate the must in the air. Eren felt that tightening in his groin increasing as they rutted against each other, trying to inhale through their noses without breaking any contact. His head was spinning as Jean’s eagerness shown full force even when Eren lifted his head for a second, breaking that contact with their lips to breath and Jean kept his movements going, instead clinging onto Eren’s open neck like his life depended on it.

Eren felt the bites and licking that followed soon after to ease the pleasure out the small bit of pain and it just made him lose himself in it even more as he let the boy above him mark any parts that he could reach. The space in the van wasn’t much, just long enough to keep Jean from dangling his feet out the door but not nearly as wide enough as their king sized bed at home. But the mattress was a bonus that neither of them had passed up and thanked the lord for. Grinding and fucking on the cold hard ground didn’t peak either of their interests. And as Jean licked up the length of Eren’s neck, swiping his tongue over the sweat that was building up in the crevices and curves of his dark skin, Eren dug his hands into the thin sheets that had been thrown over the old mattress to avoid the stains that seemed to permanently reside in the thing.

Jean’s free hands were sliding in and under the hem of his shirt, the coolness of his fingers chilling Eren’s chest while managing to warm his entire core even more, and with a push to get the boy off for a second and a tug at the thin fabric, he helped the guy out and flung the shirt over his shoulder onto the driver’s side headrest. Like a hyena out for dinner, Jean latched his mouth against the hardening nipple and the moan that left Eren’s mouth left both of them blushing stupidly as they blinked at each other for a second. Jean was the first to laugh, bringing his face down to place a small kiss on swollen lips before going back to leaving more marks on the other boy. He’d stopped his hips from grinding so intently, choosing rather lean his entire lower half over the other boy’s and revel in the way that Eren was starting to become a spluttering mess under him.

He raises his head for a second, letting Eren catch his breath, and says, “Well if I can’t drive then I can at least repay the favor.” Before Eren can say anything, his head still foggy from all of the attention, Jean’s dipped his head back down, his hands tugging at the loose pants around Eren’s waist and sliding both the jeans and boxers he’s wearing.

The cool on his dick made the vertigo even more apparent as he laid there stupidly letting Jean ghost his entire face against the sensitive skin. The urge to just grind and fuck was intense as he felt his hips hitch involuntarily at the way Jean’s eyes flashed hungrily up at him. Eren’s hands roamed down his body, latching onto the hair that he could reach and tugging hard enough to get the boy in between his legs to come back up and plant a kiss on his lips. They kiss for what feels like hours, tongues searching their mouths and rooting each other there and then. They were in the middle of the nowhere, in the back of some musty van and absolutely about to fuck the living shit out of each other with no idea what time it was and no cares about who might pop up out the woods.

Jean’s hands continue roaming the skin under him, his hands sliding between their close bodies and inching across the trail of hair that led down from Eren’s navel to the base of his dick. He lets his hands flit through the coarse hair for a second, soaking in the way that Eren moaned into his lips, need and begging wants on the tip of his tongue as Jean slowly got lower and lower to the tip that rested lightly on his lower stomach.

He smeared his thumb across the slit, the precome making it easy to glide along the surface, and it was like fireworks behind Eren’s eyes as he finally got the direct contact he wanted and arched off the old mattress and into Jean’s hands. Their lips lost contact again and Jean let him go, watching the way Eren shuddered under his hands, his whole body trembling over the lightest touch. He really was sensitive.

The past few months of studying hadn’t done much for the bedroom life and the quickies they allowed during the weekends when they both were free from their binding studies did little to fill that need that the both of them had been yearning for. This was their chance to make up for that lost time. To make sure that nothing in their relationship was forgotten over the case studies and researching they had to cram into their heads as graduation quickly approached.

He worked his hand over the hardness, listening to all the different moans and groans that left Eren’s mouth and he felt himself growing harder, breathing rougher than before as he twisted his free hand into the hair on the boy’s chest and slid across the small distant to sidle back on his heels lower on Eren’s body. He brought the heat of Eren’s cock to his lips, ghosting it over his mouth as he sized up the reactions it elicited and with a quick perk of his eyebrows he let the length slide into his mouth.

Eren practically convulses in his spot, his hands shooting straight into the roots of Jean’s blonde hair and tugging at it to get the boy to take more. Jean, though, kept his pacing slow; mimicking the slow grind they’d held before and letting Eren suffer for just a second.  Jean hollows his cheek, letting the tips of Eren grind against the insides of his cheeks as he tastes the salt of precome on his tongue and traveling slowly down his throat. Eren was soon hitting that edge that both of them really needed and he let the boy guide his head, trying to find that release but he soon pops him out; rubbing his hand against the soaked head and letting Eren’s high slowly wane down from jumping straight off of that cliff. Eren’s trembling under him, mumbling curse words under his few breaths that he can manage to get in. “Goddammit, Jean. Would you just do it?”

Jean smirks at him; his lips turning to a serene smile as he looks down at Eren and he feels that warmness inside him as he looks at his boyfriend. The guy was a loud and obnoxious chatterbox and after they started getting together their first year of college Jena had found out that it followed straight into the bed and that leaving a sock on the dorm room doors wasn’t going to do anything to keep the dorm mates from hearing them. Maybe agreeing to come out to the middle of nowhere for a week would do them a shit ton of good. Eren’s writhing body was a perfect example of that.

His right hand working on Eren and pulling out noises that he hasn’t heard in weeks, Jean’s left hands slides up Eren’s body and slides into the open mouth and he lets the boy suck on them. The feeling brings back that frenetic feeling traveling through his veins and he lets out a small moan in return as Eren’s tongue slides over and in between his fingers. Dragging the digits out of Eren’s mouth he slides his hands down the boy’s body and settles himself between the boy’s legs, right under his twitchy cock. Circling his ring finger around the puckered hole, he slides it in once he receives the small nod that Eren gives between heavy breaths.

The first one goes in smoothly, Eren’s breathe hitching just the slightest at the penetration and Jean’s suddenly very much aware that he doesn’t have anything on his body. “Shit! Eren.” The boy under him looks up at the sound of his name, blinking blearily. “Where are the condoms?”

His voice comes out cracked and ragged as he sits up on his elbows and stares out the door over Jean’s shoulder. “Uh. They’re somewhere in the bag of clothes.”

Sighing, Jean slides his finger out of Eren – leaving the boy a grumbling mess at the emptiness and chill that goes through the car as Jean moves out of the doorway. He wipes his hand on his jeans and starts unzipping the bag, practically tossing the clothes around to find the box of condoms and hopefully lube Eren had packed away.

His hands close on the large box, and he stands up and faces Eren with a grin on his face as he shakes the box in triumph and bounces back towards the giggling boy. “Found them!”

“You’re an idiot.”

“And I’m your idiot so now scoot up so the mosquitos don’t leave more marks on you then I do.”

Eren just as he’s told, both of them moving further into the van as Jean closes the back doors behind them. Jean opens the box as he waits for Eren to settle back into the few bags that were still crammed into the back of the car seats. Eren lets one hand rest over his forehead, the other plopping over the open box of sodas. Holding up the bottle of lube and giving another victory pose, Jean squeezes the liquid onto his fingers, catching Eren’s attention.

Jean finger goes back to ghosting lines up and down Eren’s length – twitchy shivers wracking his body – as he slides the finger back into Eren’s ass. The smaller boy’s back arches up against Jean’s hands, his entire body trying to find more and searching for that friction he needs on his dick. A whine surfaces back into the space and Jean lets Eren ride it out before slipping another finger into his hole.

Eren’s more accustomed to the feeling but he keeps up his whining and moaning and needing “more” as Jean works him open, scissoring his fingers and curling them against his walls looking for that special place that gets Eren unraveling like a neatly wrapped present. Once he finds his prostate it’s like an explosion of Eren all over the place as he ruts harder against Jean’s hand and yells that he’s ready and needs to feel Jean closer – needs to feel Jean inside him and hitting that spot. All of it has Jean rock solid within seconds, the cool air that had softened him for a second forgotten over the heat of Eren surrounding him.

He slides a third finger in just for good measure as he lets his other hand slide off of the ministrations on Eren’s dick and finding a chain of condoms. He uses his teeth to rip one of them out, not caring for the wrapper until after their done with their business as his other hands skims in and out of Eren, grazing against the sensitive spot to make sure that Eren’s still ready.

He removes his hand out of Eren and the boy cries out for the loss long enough for him to open his eyes to watch Jean slide the condom onto his dick and coat it in a thin layer of lube. He’d taken his pants off at some point, Eren thinks, surprised as to how he must’ve been mentally to not have noticed the lack of bottoms the boy was sporting. Jean had even slipped off his underwear and damn did he appreciate the view of his heels digging into his ass as he sat back to jerk himself off a few times to keep himself hard. Jean’s eyes glide up and he notices the hunger that radiates out of the green eyes watching him and the twitch of his cock at the way that Eren seems transfixed on his working hands does it for him and he climbs over to the other boy.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi yourself, horseface,” Eren says giggling at Jean’s stupid, shiteating grin. The guy thinks he’s so smooth but all he looks like is a giant teddy bear that really needs a friend to hug.

“Kinda rude for someone about to take it up the ass.”

“Guess it’s just how we are huh?”

Jean’s lined himself up to Eren, hovering his body over Eren where he’s able to link his wrists around the blonde’s neck and pull him down close to his face. Jean smiles down at him, letting his lips travel up his jaw and hover over the plump lips under him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way shirtless wonder.” He lets himself fall into the kiss, the lower half of his body sliding up and into Eren eliciting that tiny gasp between close lips from Eren. They both settle, locked together just like that for a second to let Eren adjust to the feeling.

The presence of Eren’s tongue licking its way into Jean’s mouth is affirmation enough to create that slow grind that has Jean moaning into Eren’s mouth and Eren gasping in return at the small amount of air he can manage to intake at each grind. Jean’s movements are matched when Eren finds that energy in his center to meet him halfway and grind himself back against the blond with every thrust – both hitting places that they know well on each other’s bodies. Hitting every button that they know will get the other off if done thoroughly.

They’re both grinding and rutting against the other, Jean’s hands sliding every so often over Eren to stir the boy up even more for what feels like hours before Jean feels Eren tightening dangerously hard over him. Eren’s whining grows louder and Jean matches his pace and rhythm. He feels Eren clenching hard, and his eyes closed in the euphoria, Jean can feels the stickiness spreading from his fingertips across the length of Eren’s chest.

Jean follows suit with a couple thrusts, his hips grinding against Eren’s ass as he tries to ride out his orgasm to the last second and letting himself fall into the crook of Eren’s neck and breathing in his scent.

They’re both breathing heavy into each other’s space, trying to calm their racing hearts as their peaks wear down.

Jean slides himself out of Eren, the guy groaning at the sudden loss and wiggling on his back trying to adjust to Jean’s weight over him. The blond flops himself over as close as he can to Eren without banging his head on a bag or the sides of the van. They cling onto each other as the van warms them up from the cool air settling outside.

Eren is the first to speak, his voice on the edge of falling asleep and filled with false energy. “So burrito?”

Jean snorts into the side of Eren’s neck and lifting his head to rest it on his hand to look down at Eren, he smiles down at Eren’s earnest expression clouded with sleep. “I’ll get the tortillas if you put on some clothes.” He sits up and stuffing himself back into the zipper of his pants Jean opens the back doors of the van and steps in the cold air and scrounges around for a second looking for the food they’d dropped in their haste.

Eren stumbles out a couple minutes later – his clothes rumpled and off-kilter but definitely on as he walks awkwardly around the van’s door to grab at the cooking stove. He mutters loudly as he walks past Jean, “Asshole. Probably broke my back.”

Jean clicks his tongue against his teeth as he starts rearranging bags that had been forgotten and responds. “Your idea not mine, sweetheart.”


	6. What Happens in Circus Circus

“We are in Vegas. City of lights and bad decisions. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Why the fuck are we going to magic show at Circus Circus?”

“Because the Mariah Carey show costs as much as both my kidneys and I hate the strip clubs here.”

“Okay but…Circus Circus?”

“Think of it as payback for Chuck E. Cheese.” Eren chuckled to himself, walking a step in front of Jean and tugging a hand to keep him in step as the night turned dark around them. The homeless would soon be stepping out of their dark corners and neither him nor Jean had an interest in running into smelly men with a penchant for the naked lady cards thrown all over the ground. The first time Eren had found one of those was during a family vacation when he was around nine and he swears by it as the day he realized he was too gay to accept the nipples on full display.

They’d stopped at Las Vegas on the excuse of needing gasoline for the rust mobile and Eren’s small bladder and large appetite had managed to extend the stay a couple of hours. But once the sun had started to dip into the horizon and the bright, white lights of the strip lit the night sky, getting the two boys to leave the small city had become impossible. They both agreed that this would have to be a one night thing, a little pit stop in their map towards the Grand Canyon. The hotel room and bottle service down at the bar had been a little reward of sorts for making it two nights away from home.

But the night was still young as of now, drifting between 6 PM and 7 PM, and Eren wanted to hit the night hard. So, obviously, a magic show was the top choice.

Jean hated magic shows. The creepiness and uncertainty with how magicians presented their skills gave him the heebie jeebies. The stupid card tricks and disappearing bunny acts wasn’t natural and Jean hated it. And Eren knew this.

Eren latched his hand onto his boyfriend’s hand – dragging him across the floor through slot machines accompanied by old white people with bustling tourists with young kids thrown into the kids’ areas. The penny games they passed occupied by groups of people working on a conveyer system of pushing a coin in and pulling a lever until a profit showed up big enough to get them to leave their machine. It was a Tuesday but the crowd that loitered around the poker tables and dice games didn’t give two shits as they threw down their chips in succession and let out loud whoops whenever the odds turned in their favor.

Neither boys cared for the world of gambling and it worked well as they zoomed their way around floor girls with drinks in hand and the adults that were too distracted by someone else’s winnings to watch where they were going as they made their way towards the escalators the signs pointed their final destination to.

They made their way, standing quietly on two sets of escalators it took to get to the lower floor of the building, the golden nugget of what is Circus Circus.

Motherfucking Midway.

Nabbing tickets to the Adventuredome on the top level of the casino would’ve been a decent idea, probably a more fun night out, but according to the schedule for the night, the magic show was free down at Midway and free was something both of them could do. Also the circumstances of their surroundings was just hilarious.

They shoved their way through the throng of children running around loaded with cups of quarters and little stuffed toys. The scene brought out memories that were years ago and Eren smiled wider as he turned back to see the scowl on Jean’s face as he tried to measure his steps to not run into a kid. There were a couple appearances of the lone teenager forced to hang around the games with their younger siblings as their parents had fun gambling away their college funds and Jean forcefully scowled as dirty looks were shot for no reason at all. They were all kids dammit. No need for the snippy attitudes when everyone liked playing games.

Eren tugged on Jean’s hand, driving him forward into his chest and away from the staring contest he was holding with a quiet little girl clutching a fabric flower to her chest. “I know you hate magic shows but c’mon. It’s kinda funny that this basically mirrors our first date.”

Jean huffs as his eyes roam over the heads of bouncing children and he sucks his teeth as the frown graces his lips. “Tch. I didn’t mean for that to be our first date. This is just – it’s a lot. I’m fine though. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Good! Because the show’s about to start and I want front seats just in case he asks for volunteers.”

“Wait, what?” But it was too late, Eren had already turned and started shuffling faster through the lingering kids at the bleachers’ entrance and Jean had to mumble apologies and keep the scowling to the minimum as he tried to keep up with Eren and keep one of the parents from dropping their baby as he accidentally tripped over a step and faceplanted himself into the lady’s back. He spouted out a bunch of apologies as the little baby stared curiously at the two-toned hair Jean had and how the light seemed to reflect well on the dim lights over the stage area on his ear piercings.

He finally made it over to where Eren was sitting and jittering in his place – excited for the show to get started. Jean slumped into the space next to him, folding his arms over his chest as he eyed the groups of families that stood on the other side of the stage waiting for the show to start. The bleachers were already filling up and  the sudden bounce of feet and the appearance of small body next to him shifted Jean closer to Eren who laughed as the same girl with the flower stared up at the two of them.

Her mother was busy settling a baby onto her lap and sticking a bottle of formula into its mouth and she took the few seconds of freedom and opened her mouth to address Jean. “How did you get your hair like that?”

Jean startled at the high pitch of her voice but relaxed as Eren placed a hand on his thigh and leaned over him to respond with a smile on his lips. “He says he doesn’t dye it but I think he secretly buys hair dye by the buttload.” Jean scowled as Eren laughed and the girl’s eyes blew wide at how open-mouthed Eren’s smile was when he was in the moment.

She looked shy as she spoke again, her free and that wasn’t clutching hard on the flower digging into the fabric of her Las Vegas tee shirt and Eren smiled at the little red bow on her head that really put her outfit together aesthetically. “Are you his boyfriend?”

Eren and Jean were both surprised at the question, their eyebrows shooting up as they stared at each other and then back at the little girl. They probably resembled an oldies comedy as they sat open-mouthed and tried to answer the girl. Jean was the one that fell back to planet earth and he cleared his throat and managed to relax his voice to not sound accusatory or venomous to a girl that probably only seven years old. “Yeah he is actually. Um – you know about”

She cuts Jean off before he can ask how the fuck a seven year old could be so liberal to understand boyfriends. “My daddy has a boyfriend too. Mommy says that people can’t help you they love and daddy really loves Mr. Smith.” She smiled happily up at them, turning to look back at her mother and Jean and Eren followed her eyes and sat upright when they say the amusement on the lady’s lips as she watched them flounder for something to say.

The lady, baby still in hand and slowly falling asleep, patted her free hand over her daughter’s head and turned back to Eren and Jean. “Sorry my kid is a bit chatty when she’s excited. I hope she didn’t say anything bad.”

“No no. She was fine. Rather interesting stories to tell in fact.” Eren said quietly. Single parents usually scared him as they were double the intensity of a couple and the two kids just meant more volatile if provoked. But he relaxed as the lady smiled again, her expression sincere.

“Mhm. I heard the little rugrat mention Mr. Smith. That’s the guy my ex-husband is dating. Name’s Hanji by the way.” She pushed her free hand out to shake the boys’ hands. They both took it, gripping tight as hers was just as forceful and told her their own names. She nodded and mumbled their names in repetition, seemingly memorizing their identifications. Hopefully she wasn’t keeping it as records for when she needed to file a police report for pedophilic behavior.

The lights around them dimmed down and the little girl in-between them jittered in her seat excitedly. Hanji chuckled and with a quick nod, turned to face the stage. Eren and Jean just say dumbfounded for a second at the suddenness of everything. And as the show began, the music starting and bringing out cheers, Jean forgot all about his fear of stupid magic tricks and clung onto the hand that Eren still had over his leg. This was going to be just fine.


	7. Je T'aime Mon Chéri

It’s been years since they first met. That fateful winter day when everything around him irritated the very skin on Jean’s arms that turned into the best thing that could’ve ever happened to him. The day that he quite literally ran into Eren Jaeger. The little ball of energy and dripping sarcasm that was his boyfriend of almost nine years now. Their friendship of two years that had blossomed into something so much more radiant than any of the flowers that were scattered around their tiny little loft in the peaks of spring. They’d found the place during the off season a couple of years prior to signing the lease. It was located very close to where Eren’s headquarters sat for his business and Jean’s company was spearheading their promotional efforts. It was perfect – their living situation – but it lacked that little thing that could push things over the edge and into new territory. And Jean was on a mission to get to that tipping point before the other boy realized just how close they were to standing on the cliff’s ridge.

It’s Eren’s birthday again, a constant reminder of when they got together and made a mess of their lives. A nice pleasant mess that involved a lot of trial and error. Their first date had been memorable to say the least; the images of pizza and little gold tokens seared into Jean’s personal memory bank whenever he thought about Eren’s 21st birthday. It had been unforgettable and almost unforgivable event but it led to them becoming officially ex-best friends and now boyfriends.

The days leading towards Eren’s birthday were always filled a lot of mushy romance. The late night talks that flowed into heavy breathing exercises were consistent as they spoke into the dark and praised the other. Jean wanted to make this birthday, though, more special than a silly 21st. Eren was turning 30, a big milestone in the shitstorm we call life and Jean was going to make sure that he remembered the day in some capacity.

Spending the morning lazing around their shared home and letting the breeze shoot by as they spent the early afternoon at home trying not to think about work or have any distractions around them was easy. It was comfortable and being together made Jean comfortable and he hoped Eren felt the same about him.

He’d planned their night to be just as special as reservations were made and he forced Eren into wearing one of his fancier suits – saying it’s a big occasion and it deserved the best clothes. Eren had pushes it off as a joke, making snide remarks on whether he should actually be wearing a tee shirt underneath just in case Jean decided to dine on pizza instead. Jean let him mess around, playing along enough to only bring back the point that he really hoped Eren would love what he’d had planned for him until Eren relented as well and shrugged on his black suit coat that played well of the pin striped one that Jean had chosen to wear. Eren’s thin black tie contrasting and complimenting Jean’s red tie of choice made then a sight to see as Jean drove and led Eren into the restaurant.

“Mikuni’s? Isn’t this a sushi place?” Since the second they’d walked in, Eren’s eyes had blown wide at everything around him. Glancing down at other people’s dishes and the decorations that hung on the walls, he looked more than out of his element for the few seconds it took to get his bearing.

“It is. Thought it’d be nice place to have dinner.” A young woman, the head of the house, led them out to their seat, a lone table with two chairs surrounded by other guests.

“Like, neither of us are even Japanese.”

Jean held the chair out for Eren to sit down at while the darker boy kept his eyes trailing along the tables around them. “You don’t need to be Japanese to appreciate the food, Eren.” His hand automatically goes up to rub at his neck as he sits across from Eren who’s turned his attention back to his boyfriend. “Someone from work had recommended the place and I thought it’d be a fun, new opportunity to try some dishes with you.” He could feel his cheeks and tips of his pinking but with a cough to cover the hitch in his voice, Eren accepted the answer and turned down to look over the menu.

The thumbs up from Eren though works wonders for Jean’s courage as he clears his throat again, the memorized speech running replays across his subconscious as he tries to find that start to what he wants to say.

“New opportunities together with you is what I really want. Being able to try new things with you at my side makes it more comfortable for me and since you’d never mentioned that you’ve had sushi before, I figured it would be a good start on the whole changing things up spectrum.”

Eren nods his head, his eyes still trained on the menu and the silence that Jean lets settle over the table catches his attention enough to look up to the intense gaze that he has trained on him. Jean’s red ears have trailed all the way down to his cheeks and have pooled in the curves and dips of his neck. The heat in his chest burning through the thin fabric of his dress shirt and the jacket may have been a bit excess inside the restaurant.

Jean continues talking, now included with Eren’s curious eyes glued to the redness of his face. His breathing speeds and he sucks in gulps of air to keep himself from passing out in anticipation. He can do this. He’s given numerous speeches at conferences and business meetings and he can fucking talk to Eren like civil human beings that’ve been in a relationships for almost a decade.

“I wanna do a lot of new things with you and I’m not just talking about in bed, get your head out of the gutter. I want to be there when you get promoted and have to lead entire groups of people across the country for some study or event. I want you to be there when I finally start up that specialty company and become the best known businessman in the industry and I need help to carry the heavy boxes of paperwork into my office because my stringy arms are useless most of the time. I just want to always be with you. Forever. You make everything so much better and I am so far in love with you.”

Eren startles a bit when the waitress comes back holding a pad of paper to take down their orders. Someone had come by beforehand to supply their table with water but neither boys had paid attention as Eren seemed to pent on what Jean was trying to stutter out. He jumps back a bit – either from the sudden appearance of their waiter, Sasha, or from Jean’s words digging into his ears and actually reaching his brain. He looks between Jean and the menu and Sasha, his mouth flopping around as he tries to work his jaw into saying something.

Jean takes the opportunity to give his order while Eren mumbles out something with broccoli and a lot of wasabi and takes a drink of water to relax his dry throat. He shoots Eren a small smile, the tips of his ears still red but his body calmer and more relaxed as he receives a shy smile in return. Jean keeps his lips turned up as his eyes roam over how Eren tends to slouch even in the fanciest of venues and how he fidgets every so often with the chopsticks and napkins on the table.

“Jean. You’re staring.”

Jean snaps out of his reverie and on instinct, he stands up from his seat almost knocking a knee into the table. He looks down at the place setting in front of him and then back up to Eren who’s wide-eyed. His mouth opens and his words are smoother now, rushing out him as if it was second nature and it really is up until this point. The silkiness of his voice will hopefully carry on as he screams his way down a cliff into unfamiliar territory. “I want everything with you, Eren.”

He sticks a hand in the lining of his pants, the way Eren’s eyes shoots down at his pant leg shows that he’s surprised he’d never noticed the weight that’d been keeping Jean grounded since the night had first started. The small weight of the sleek, black box keeping him from floating too far up into the sky and forgetting just how much he wanted to dive himself into the cool water below.

Eren’s nervousness shows more as he grabs the glass of water in front of him and forgoes the thin straw and chugs down a couple sips to give him something to do as Jean bends down next to the table in front of Eren’s chair and presents the box. He maintains that cool that Jean can see right through even as Jean open the lid with heavy hands and reveals the thin silver band set in a cloud of white silk. It isn’t until Jean speaks up again, his voice faltering a bit but maintaining that strength he knows is flushing through his body, that Eren splutters into a mess and dribbles water down the side of his mouth.

“Will you do the thing with me?” Jean asks quietly. The restaurant feels like it’s gone on pause. The few tables around them stalled in their dining to watch the scene and wait to see what the reply will be. Eren’s heavy breaths not even echoing as loud as Jean can feel his heart beating in his ears – the blood rushing in body like a train as it makes its way to his face as the silence stretches out.

Eren wipes his chin on the table napkin, the thing soaked at the corner from where he accidentally places it back in his glass of water instead of on the table. “Well this definitely isn’t Chuck E. Cheese.”

Jean chuckles as he looks up at the teal green eyes in front of him; the dim lighting of the restaurant atmosphere doing wonders in creating little specks of deep browns in them. “No it’s now. So now are you going to answer because my knees are getting to old for this?”

“You say these things and then tell me not to make jokes?” Eren laughs at the scowl that Jean’s face pulls. “You’re totally fine with being on your knees when we’re at home.”

“Yes but that usually involves a fluffy mattress and not being in a public area with people watching us,” Jean quips quickly as Eren chuckles into his hand. He takes another deep breath, closing his eyes for a second as he regains his composure. He opens his eyes, a determination in them that pulls on every one of Eren’s string and he sits up as well under the gaze. “Now Eren? Will you marry me?”

Eren bites his lower lip – chewing on it for a minute as he flits his eyes all over Jean’s earnest expression. The sound of his teeth sucking on it and then releasing the lip with a pop echoes around their quiet circle of space as he smiles wide, his cheeks practically falling off in his excitement. “I will. Now get up here you dumbfuck.”

Jean slides the ring on, his hands shaking as they grip tight onto Eren’s left hand but Eren catches his wrist, helping him fit the ring on and then interlacing their fingers together effortlessly as Jean stands up. He pulls in his blond boyfriend – fiancé – into his space, one hand reaching up to dig into the darker parts of an undercut to bring down to crash into his own face.

They kiss for who knows how long. Jean leans in heavily and they probably look like a couple of teenagers with no definition of public indecency as their small kiss get dangerously close to being on the verge of a full blown make out session.

A small cough comes above the roar of applause that had apparently been going on for the entirety of their kiss and they both pink as Jean turns around to find their waitress passing by with another table’s food in hand, a knowing smile on her face as she passes behind Jean. Jean gives a shy smile and makes his way to slide back into his own seat across from his new fiancé who stares back with that same dopey grin plastered on.

They fall into comfortable conversation once they’ve settled back into their seat and the crowd around them has gone back to their food. Eren unconsciously keeps twisting the ring on his hand as Jean rambles on about everything that comes to the top of his head. They talk about when they should have the wedding (Eren agrees that a fall birthday would be beautiful and full of colors and no allergies); who should be their appointed groomsmen or maybe a maid of honor (Jean elects his coworker Marco who is also a copartner for his new company and Eren plans to ask Armin to do the honors); and, who will be the one to walk down the aisle (there isn’t a set decision at that, both their side being well-presented and their minds too indecisive).

Their food comes at some point, their warm and cold dishes stacked on fancy dishes goes out of mind as they struggle for a second to remember how to use chopsticks they used to live by back in their ramen days. Between bites either staring at the other or sorting through different little details in the rest of their lives.

Jean’s eyes flicker down at where Eren keeps sliding his fingers across the smooth edge of the rink and he smiles so wide as the boy’s thoughts wanders away and talks about what kind of alcohol Reiner will probably ask for. He smiles so wide whenever a dark finger grazes carefully, knowing that Eren will find the engraving he’d gotten done on the inside of the silver ring sooner or later.

A small promise in the grand scheme of things that he hopes will remind Eren everyday he looks down at his hands that Jean doesn’t plan on going anywhere if he would allow it. A promise to be there for everything new and old.

A simple “Je t’aime” for his little Starbucks lover.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](%E2%80%9Cmamaarachne.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)


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